Gilbert is getting ready to cash in on a long-idle chunk of real estate, putting nearly 19 acres at the northeast corner of Ray Road and Santan Village Parkway up for a sealed-bid sale. A public hearing is set for Tuesday, with bids to be opened June 1. The town-owned parcel, which has sat vacant for years just north of Topgolf and next to Crossroads District Park, sits in the middle of an already busy entertainment and retail hub. Town leaders say the move is part of a broader push to get underused public land into private hands and back on the tax rolls.
What's being offered
The town has labeled the site as surplus and is looking for the highest qualified offer, according to ABC15 Arizona, which notes the coverage builds on earlier reporting from the Phoenix Business Journal. Gilbert has held onto the land for decades and is now inviting competitive bids that could reshape that corner of SanTan Village. In its public notice, the town pitches the sale as a chance to turn an underused property into something that actually does some work for the local economy.
Price, zoning and site details
Town records identify the northern portion of the property as APN 304-26-888 and show the 18.9-acre site was appraised at $6,390,000 in November 2025. The sealed-bid materials list current zoning as Public Facilities/Institutional (PF/I) and a General Plan designation of Parks/Open Space (P/OS). The notice makes clear the land is being sold "AS-IS" and that Gilbert cannot accept a purchase price below the appraised value. Town of Gilbert Sealed Bid Notice
Why the location matters
The parcel sits within the SanTan Village entertainment district, an area already anchored by Topgolf, Main Event and other crowd-pleasers, a setup that tilts the odds toward entertainment or retail concepts, according to local coverage of nearby projects. PopStroke Ditches Indoor Plan detailed shifts to a neighboring proposal that signal developer appetite for uses that plug neatly into the existing entertainment lineup. Any bidder is likely to weigh that built-in draw, along with the possibility of seeking a future rezoning, when deciding how aggressively to go after the site.
How the auction will work
The town has issued an Invitation for Bids that lays out an inspection window and a pre-bid conference. Prospective buyers must arrange site access through the town, get any questions in by the posted deadlines and submit electronic bids before the cutoff. The schedule calls for bids to be due electronically by 2:00 p.m. on June 1, with a sealed-bid opening at 2:30 p.m. that same day. The Gilbert Town Council is slated to consider a purchase agreement with the top bidder on June 9. Town of Gilbert Invitation for Bids
What to watch
The mix of bidders will go a long way toward deciding what eventually lands on the property. Entertainment operators, retail developers and housing players could all see reasons to take a swing at it, and any winning bidder will need town approvals to line up with Gilbert’s planning framework. The town has used sealed-bid sales on similar parcels in recent years and has, in some cases, steered the proceeds into public projects, a pattern tracked in local coverage of its land portfolio. Rose Law Group Reporter has outlined Gilbert’s broader inventory of municipal land and the steps it has taken to dispose of certain properties.
